CME Group has announced a leadership transition that will see long-time Chief Executive Officer Terry Duffy step down in March next year, ending a tenure that spans more than two decades at the top of the derivatives exchange operator.

The company said in Wednesday's announcement that Duffy will move into the role of Executive Chairman, while current President and Chief Financial Officer Lynne Fitzpatrick will take over as CEO and join the board.

Leadership Transition Plan

Duffy has led CME Group since 2002, when he became Chairman, and later took on the CEO role in 2016. He oversaw CME’s transition from floor-based trading to electronic markets and led major acquisitions. These include the merger with the Chicago Board of Trade in 2007 and the purchase of the New York Mercantile Exchange in 2008.

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The company has also grown in scale. CME reported average daily volumes of 28.1 million contracts last year and now has a market capitalization of more than $95 billion.

Duffy said he plans to remain active in the business during the transition. “I am pleased our company is well positioned and have never been more optimistic about its future potential,” he said.

Fitzpatrick to Take Over

Fitzpatrick will assume the CEO role after serving in several senior positions at CME. She became Chief Financial Officer in 2023 and was promoted to President and CFO in 2024. She joined the company in 2006 and previously worked in investment banking at Credit Suisse and UBS. CME said Duffy will continue to work closely with Fitzpatrick as Executive Chairman.

The most recent notable leadership transition at CME was the late‑2024 reshuffle where Lynne Fitzpatrick was promoted to President and Chief Financial Officer and Suzanne Sprague was elevated to Chief Operating Officer as longtime COO Julie Holzrichter moved into an advisory role.

That package of changes, coupled with the extension of Terry Duffy’s employment agreement through end‑2026, was framed by CME as a leadership update to support future growth of the derivatives franchise.

Meanwhile, CME recently announced plans to launch cash-settled single stock futures this summer, covering more than 50 major U.S. companies such as Nvidia, Tesla, Alphabet, and Meta. The move comes as demand for equity derivatives continues to grow among both institutional and retail investors.

The launch will still need to pass regulatory approvals before going live. The new contracts will track individual stocks from major indexes like the S&P 500, Nasdaq-100, and Russell 1000. Since they are cash-settled, traders will not own the actual shares but will instead trade on price movements. This setup allows investors to gain exposure to individual stocks using futures margin, rather than paying the full cost of buying the shares outright.